Thanks for all the useful info I've been getting by lurking around in here recently.

You guys are in a tough business. As I sit at my computer working on spreadsheets and business plans and watch the guys cutting my 2 acres every week, I do not envy them. It looks like hard work and not fun. I used to cut my property, originally with a Wheel Horse 14 hp tractor (took WAY too long) and then a used 1978 National Triplex 84" reel mower. The reel mower was fun the first few times and it cut my mowing time in half but it to became "old" (BTW, it gives a fantastic cut that no rotary could match). The guys who cut my lawn use walk-behinds with the stand-up single wheel riders. Their arms, legs, and backs must be strong as Hell doing this many hours a day.

I admit to being "cheap" in that I hired the guys who would cut it for the least amount of money. They have about 4 lawns in the immediate vicinity so they park the truck and do all 4 without having to load and drive, they give us a good deal. They don't do double cuts or anything like it in this severe growth season, they even missed my back yard last week because I was at a meeting and they came early (dog containment fence was locked). They'll come today and blades will be at normal height which means they'll cut more than half the length off of 8" (you get what you pay for).

Going to move soon to a property with a little under 1 acre, maybe 3/4 acre cut. I'm thinking of getting a residential grade ZTR that can take a plow and tow-behinds and going back to doing it myself. Figure a 42" ZTR would make quick work of an acre. Any thoughts on which one?

Anyway, I know how hard you guys work and how cheap and unreasonable us home owners can be. Just wanted to say thanks. Come to think of it, that ZTR would be fun the first few times (like the National was) but it will probably get "old" soon enough that I should just hire one of you guys to do it. If I could just find somebody to do it cheap enough......LOL.

Jim

awm

05-08-2002, 02:01 PM

finding your best deal is not a sin or nothin ,as some would have u believe.
thats never gonna change no matter how many names we call low cost mowin on this forum. u do get what u pay for tho.. a man on a lawnmower is not automatically able to provide professional
LCO service..u needed the z with the 2 acres. jmho. good luck.

rick_reno

05-08-2002, 02:26 PM

We looked at and had the dealer bring a Hustler Fastrak out last week. It would make short work of an acre and was a very solid, stable platform. Extremely well built. I was especially impressed with the slopes it would transverse with little or no slippage.

Ssouth

05-09-2002, 06:24 PM

Jim, I'm not sure about residential ZTR's but if they are even close to my mowers you should never get tired of mowing. Running a ZTR is like driving a go-cart, no matter how many times you do it it's always fun. This is my opinion. We currently have 3 eXmark ZTR's and 2 walkbehinds. The walkbehind with some sort of velke would be your best bang for the buck. If price is not a concern, by all means find yourself a used commercial unint and it should last forever just doing 1 acre. There is an Encore dealer in town and I've looked at these, but don't feel they would hold up to commercial use. Having said that, they too would probably last forvever on 1 acre.

Good luck with the new home and mower.

TooLPrincessBlaze

05-18-2002, 11:04 PM

:angle: I have been doing it for years at $5ph and I still think its fun even though I have about the world's oldest and crappiest mower. And about the worlds biggest yard, over 10 acres, probally well over it. :D :cool: